ginning, and general preparation of the
commodity for market. The operations of the
company have been commenced in the Bombay
Presidency, in the districts of Dharwar and
North Canara, where, in consequence of the
encouraging results of Mr. Haywood's mission of
investigation, cotton-gin factories, press-houses,
and offices are being erected; necessary stores
have been sent out, as well as six mechanics
to conduct the operations—one of whom,
however, died on his passage. Eleven bales of cotton,
grown from American seed at Dharwar, have
already been received, and its value at Liverpool is
from sixteen to seventeen-pence a pound, while
under ordinary circumstances the average price
has been only from fivepence to sixpence. The
local government have given every assistance
towards the object, the only obstruction which
presented itself being met in a manner peculiarly
Indian. It seems that when Dharwar and North
Canara were first decided upon as the opening
scene of operations, the latter place was under
the Madras government. This was not encouraging.
The authorities of the " Benighted Presidency"
are celebrated for their dilatoriness in all
matters relating to trade, and the utmost activity
was necessary; a road, in particular, being
required from Dharwar to the port at Sedashegur
without delay. There were several ways of dealing
with the difficulty, one of which—and the
least likely to overcome it—was to try to stir
up the Madras government. But instead of
wasting time by trying experiments, the company
petitioned the home authorities to transfer the
district in question from the Madras to the
Bombay Presidency. This masterly policy was
at once adopted; the Bombay government did
what was wanted immediately, and the
business of the road is now going on merrily.
There is a grand simplicity about the
arrangement, it must be admitted; but to carry
the policy to its logical extent would surely be
to annex the Madras Presidency altogether.
The company at present own a plot of land
consisting of nineteen acres, where their
work-shops are being erected, and where will soon
be found the nucleus of a flourishing station.
A second ship-load of stores, machinery, and so
forth, is being sent out, and there is every sign of
the undertaking being prosecuted with vigour.

The company have been thus active not only
in India; having also established an agency
on the west coast of Africa. At Winnebah, on
this same coast, they have made an arrangement
with Mr. Hutton, an active and energetic
Englishman, who has purchased three hundred
acres of land from the local monarch, the
greater proportion of which is under cotton
cultivation. The success of this experiment
depends upon the system of free labour being
found to work for the intended purpose in this
part of the world. If it works well, the native
chiefs will doubtless follow the example of Mr.
Hutton, and a considerable supply may be
obtained from the coast.

The result of Mr. Haywood's investigations
in India will tend not a little to remove the false
impression which has been generally received in
this country with regard to the cotton-growing
capacities of our empire in the East. It is a
curious fact that, notwithstanding the favourable
opinions held by practical men, amounting
indeed to convictions, the first inquiries instituted
by the local government into the subject were
not by any means encouraging; but these were
made by gentlemen who, although competent
to weigh and determine the value of the
evidence placed before them, had no practical
acquaintance with the subject on hand. They
were deputed to collect existing information, not
to make new experiments, or to find out new
facts. They performed their mission, doubtless,
with honesty and ability, as far as that
mission extended; it was not their fault if it did
not extend further, or if they were unable to
come to any conclusion on their own authority.
In the North-West Provinces—which, as a
general rule, are not so well adapted for the
cultivation of cotton as many other parts of
India—the inquiry was conducted in a different
manner, and with a different result. Mr.
Paterson Saunders, the gentleman upon whom
the work of inquiry devolved, has had large
experience in indigo planting, and agricultural
pursuits generally, during a long residence in
India. He did not collect the observations
of others, but proceeded himself to the scene,
and conducted his investigation in person. The
result is highly favourable to the cotton-capacity
of the North-West Provinces, and the conclusions
at which Mr. Saunders arrives we have seen
nowhere disputed. The soil of the Doab, he tells
us, is very suitable for the growth of cotton,
and, as the population is very dense, there would
be no difficulty from want of labour. The
ground requires irrigation for a short season in
July and August [we should have thought
rather in August and September], and the
means for supplying it are furnished by the
numerous canals that traverse the whole
tract of country under notice. He mentions
the fact that some forty years ago the Doab
gave a guarantee of its productiveness by
raising large crops of cotton for the English
market, and at that time all the mechanical
appliances existed for carrying on the trade in a
proper manner; but the American planter
produced a better article at a lower price, and the
traffic in cotton from the North-West fell into
total decay.

Mr. Saunders is convinced that a permanent
demand from England would give a great
stimulus to the cultivation; but he discourages,
like other practical men, any attempt on the
part of Europeans to grow it for themselves.
The prices in the growing districts a few months
ago were, he says, rather less than twopence-
farthing a pound; and allowing one penny and
six-eighths for charges of conveyance to Liverpool,
it could be laid down there at fourpence a
pound. Upon the subject of the hostility of
the civil servants of government to the settlers,
which prevails strongly in Bengal, Mr. Saunders
remarks that he saw no signs of any such